The journey of getting a Green Card begins with the fiancee visa if you are applying for PR based on marriage. Getting a K1 visa defines your temporary visa to reach the US for legal marriage to the green card holder. To date, you are under a process known as “adjustment of status.” The visitor needs to marry a person within 90 days of the visit then proceed with other legal formalities. The process ends with an interview of the green card holder, finance, and sponsor.
Here, we will define your step by step journey to get K1 Visa:
- A Personal Meeting is Essential
Before you begin the K1 visa filing process, you have to meet your partner once in two years. It helps to prove your genuine relationship. If you never meet with each other, you need to take care of personal meeting criteria. Certain exceptions are also made to religious traditions, make sure to check guidelines before applying.
- U.S. Citizen Files I-129F Petition
The next step is to file I-129F Petition by a US citizen. A person who is filing the petition is called the petitioner and must be United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). You have to file a petition by email with a form I-129F. While filing petitions, you need to send proof of courtship showing your marriage intentions, US citizenship proof in the form of a birth certificate or passport.
With this, you have to submit within 30 days of filing your petition proof that you meet with each other, passport size color photo. If you have ever been involved in any violent or domestic crimes consult with your fiancee visa attorney and submit details. Keep in mind, if you were early married, you have to submit evidence that you have overcome from a previous marriage, for instance, submit a divorce or death certificate.
Remember, all your fee paid with USCIS will be non-refundable. Therefore, check and fill in the details carefully. Once your petition is submitted, it will be reviewed within a few weeks by USCIS. Later, send a Notice of Action acknowledging receipt in Form I-797.
Once everything is cleared, USCIS sends another notice of action defining the approval. Now, all your details are forwarded to the National Visa Center and later sent to the U.S. embassy or fiancé’s place of residence consulate.
- Foreign-Born Fiancé Applies to the U.S.
Once your application is sent to the fiancé’s embassy, he/she has to clear certain formalities like medical examination and documentation. These formalities for a fiancee visa vary from country to country. If the need persists, the fiancé has to appear before the counselor for an interview on a scheduled appointment. Some of the documents submitted at the time of interview are:
- Birth certificate
- Divorce or death certificate from the previous spouse
- A medical examination report; must contain details related to all vaccinations.
- Police certificate from where the applicant is residing since at the age of 16 (it applies to a few countries)
- Evidence of financial support under Form I-134,
- Two passport size photographs according to US passport-style
- Relationship evidence with Fiancé
- Passport must obtain more than six months expiry date
- Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application, on State Department Form DS-160
- Payment of visa fee
After considering all the details, hopefully, you will get approval for visa K-1 to the US. Unfortunately, if it is denied, you have no right to claim. But, you can correct your mistakes and may reapply.
- Enter the United States
The immigrating fiancé has to present a K-1 visa while entering the US borders, airport or another entry point. Keep in mind, even if you have a fiance visa, your entry is not guaranteed. Accessing officer, if found any evidence against you, can deny your entry. Therefore, work with your fiance visa consultant and get their best advice rather than getting confused or answering questions in the wrong sense.
- Get Married
If you want to get a green card, you have to get an official marriage certificate. Therefore, within the 90 days of your entry to the United States, you have to marry. Submitting a marriage certificate before the lapse of time helps you to get faster documentation approval.
- Apply for Adjustment of Status
Once you get married in the US, now you can begin with green card formalities. You have applied for “adjusting your status” to a permanent resident.
What To Do When The Immigration Case is Taking so Long?
This is the most asked question that why my immigration case is taking a long time? The answer is, there could be certain reasons associated with this, you have to find the reason for your case. You can also seek immigration consultants to know your delay cause. Some of the reasons are:
- A large number of files with the assessing officer
Every accessing officer is handling a large number of files. As per the US embassy, the first come first serve method is followed. But some other categories backed up your officer. One of the categories is an employment visa who paid a high premium for filing. Their files are considered on a priority basis than blood relations. It can lead to a delay in your file processing.
- Waiting List for a Visa or Green Card
Every year unlimited applicants apply for visa or green card applications. Therefore, it can take lots of time to process your family-sponsored visas. All you can do is wait for the response or keep an eye on the National Visa Center progress for your file. If you changed your address, do not forget to inform the National Visa Center.
- File Has Gotten Lost
It is no surprise that your file has lost billions of data. Therefore, keep a saved hard copy of all your documents including your application number. It can save you from the hassle. Always keep on checking the status of your file, if you did not find the receipt number even after a few weeks, ask your consultant to check and submit all essential details.
- In case of a Changed address
If you have changed your address, merely sending a mail to USCIS won’t solve your purpose. It will be great to create a fresh email with an application copy and send it to the office that is handling your file.
Bottom Line
Hope the above information helps you from filing a K1 visa application to applying for a green card. Once your application is filed and is taking time due to any reason, do not forget to check essential information and contact the case handling officer.
This is a Sponsored Post – the author has requested this post be shared on Women of Wisdom Magazine and WE were compensated for sharing.
